Eucentre at the 11th Kwang-Hua Forum in Shanghai: resilience, forensic analysis and international scientific cooperation

From December 12^th to 15^th, Shanghai hosted the 11th Kwang-Hua Forum on Innovations and Implementations in Disaster Resilience Research, one of the most important international events in the field of civil engineering and disaster risk reduction. The event, hosted by Tongji University through the College of Civil Engineering and the International Joint Research Laboratory of Earthquake Engineering (ILEE), brought together around 500 researchers, academics, and experts from universities and research centres worldwide.

The President of Eucentre, Prof. Rui Pinho, and Prof. Alberto Pavese also participated in the 2025 edition of the Forum, confirming the Foundation’s active contribution to the international scientific debate on infrastructure resilience, earthquake engineering, and technological innovation applied to the management of natural hazards.

From earthquake engineering to multi-hazard resilience

The 11th Kwang-Hua Forum marked a significant shift from previous editions, which had traditionally focused on earthquake engineering in a narrow sense. Indeed, the central theme of the 2025 edition was disaster resilience, understood as the ability of urban and infrastructure systems not only to withstand extreme events but also to ensure rapid functional recovery and continuity of essential services.

Scientific discussion has highlighted the growing adoption of integrated approaches to risk assessment that jointly consider hazards, vulnerability, and exposure. Such methods are being applied to buildings, strategic infrastructure, transport networks, and complex urban systems, placing earthquake engineering within a broader vision of multi-hazard resilience that includes hydrogeological, climatic, and interconnected hazards.

Post-event forensic analysis and structural reliability: Eucentre’s contributions

During the Forum, Prof. Rui Pinho presented the paper ‘Advancements in post-event forensic analysis: the Morandi bridge collapse’, dedicated to the modelling and numerical forensic analysis activities developed following the collapse of the Polcevera bridge in Genoa on August 14^th, 2018.

The presentation illustrated the joint work carried out by a Pavia-based pool of university (IUSS Pavia and the University of Pavia), research (Eucentre) and engineering consultancy (Studio Calvi and Mosayk) entities, highlighting the role of advanced numerical analyses in the reconstruction of structural collapse mechanisms and the simulation of the distribution of debris on the ground. It was emphasised that, despite the high level of sophistication of the modelling tools available today, the reliability of the results depends crucially on the availability, completeness and quality of the data relating to the construction, condition and loading conditions of the structures analysed.

Alongside this contribution, Prof. Alberto Pavese presented the paper ‘Structures equipped with base isolation systems: reliability factors of seismic isolators’, which focused on the research conducted in Pavia to assess the reliability and structural robustness of buildings equipped with seismic isolation systems.

The presentation analysed the behaviour of sliding surface isolators under displacement capacity exceedance, showing that, even in out-of-travel response scenarios, these devices can, in most cases, still guarantee satisfactory structural performance. The results illustrate the possibility of adopting, in the future, less conservative design procedures than those currently in use, which aim to completely rule out exceeding displacement capacity even under sporadic seismic actions.

Artificial intelligence and new paradigms for civil engineering

Ample space was devoted to the role of artificial intelligence in civil engineering research and practice. Scientific sessions highlighted how tools based on advanced data analysis, numerical simulations, and decision support can significantly contribute to structural design, safety assessment, and emergency management.

In particular, the transition towards intelligent forms of disaster prevention emerged, in which structural monitoring, predictive analysis, advanced numerical models, and machine learning techniques converge in integrated ecosystems capable of improving the safety, reliability, and sustainability of infrastructure throughout its entire life cycle.

Cooperation agreements and strengthening international collaborations

Eucentre’s participation in the 11th Kwang-Hua Forum was also a significant opportunity to strengthen international scientific collaborations with Tongji University in Shanghai. On the sidelines of the event, two cooperation agreements were formalised to structure a long-term partnership.

A Cooperation Agreement was signed between Eucentre and the State Key Laboratory for Disaster Reduction of Civil Engineering at Tongji University, aimed at the joint development of research, experimentation and training activities in the field of earthquake engineering and seismic risk reduction. The agreement provides for joint research on advanced experimental techniques, cooperation in laboratory tests on structures, materials and devices – including isolators and dissipation systems – as well as the exchange of researchers and technical-scientific personnel and the organisation of joint training courses between Pavia and Shanghai. The agreement also regulates collaboration in the experimental and numerical evaluation of structural systems for the European and Chinese markets, strengthening the role of the Eucentre laboratories in the international context.

A Memorandum of Understanding has also been signed between Eucentre and the International Joint Research Laboratory of Earthquake Engineering (ILEE), aimed at promoting shared research projects, knowledge exchange, and the consolidation of synergies in the field of earthquake engineering and infrastructure resilience.

Eucentre in the global research landscape

The 11th Kwang-Hua Forum confirmed that the future of civil engineering and earthquake engineering is increasingly oriented towards interdisciplinary, data-driven and systemic approaches, in which resilience, structural reliability and technological innovation are inseparable elements. In this scenario, Eucentre continues to actively contribute to the development of advanced methodologies, knowledge transfer and the building of international collaboration networks, strengthening its role as a centre of expertise in seismic and natural hazard risk assessment and mitigation.